Baltimore mass shooting: Gunman kills two and wounds dozens in block party attack

At least two people were killed and 28 wounded, including four children, in a mass shooting in the early hours of Sunday in Baltimore.

Officers were called to the scene shortly after midnight in the city's Brooklyn neighbourhood, where multiple victims were found upon arrival, officials said in a press conference.

A woman was among the dead and three others are in critical condition, said Rich Worley, the acting police commissioner.

At least 20 people were sent to hospitals across Baltimore, which is in the northern state of Maryland.

The shooting is said to have taken place at a party with more than 100 people in attendance.

Hundreds of people were gathered in the area for an event called “Brooklyn Day”, a witness said.

Police said they are working to identify a suspect and establish a motive.

"This investigation is ongoing, and we will not rest until the people responsible are held accountable," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and the police department said in a joint statement.

"This tragedy again shows why we must continue to focus on the amount of illegal guns on our streets that make it into the hands of individuals who should not have them and continuously carry out violent acts in our city," according to the statement.

Mass shootings are not uncommon in the US, where gun deaths are the highest of any developed country, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Two people were killed in a “random attack” at a dance festival in Washington state last month.

The following day, a gunman in Chicago killed one person and shot 23 others during a Juneteenth celebration.

Independence Day, which will be celebrated on Tuesday, sees more mass shootings than any other day, data shows.

On average, five mass shootings have taken place on each Independence Day over the past decade, says the Gun Violence Archive analysed by a North-Eastern University researcher.

Seven people were killed last year and almost 50 wounded in a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Baltimore mass shooting: Gunman kills two and wounds dozens in block party attack

Three others in a critical condition after shooting at party